New Beginnings
by Lady-Brover
Summary: They had saved the world from the impossible countless times, but now they were going to face one of their greatest challenges yet. Jak/Dax
1. Chapter 1

Surprisingly enough, they'd been lovers for almost 6 years now. Not surprising to _them_, but to the people of the world. Even if wasn't any of their damn business, they'd just never imagined their hero and his little sidekick to be together like _that_. And to manage for so long! Maybe a one-night screw would have been normal, even expected, but to be in love? It definitely disturbed the majority of Haven. The Spargians didn't really care, so long as it wasn't shoved into their faces.

But, what did peer pressure mean to great heroes such as them?

-/-

"Marry me." He whispered unexpectedly one night after love making. The other blinked blurrily, shaking himself from his light doze. "Huh? Wh..Whattya say?" He was obviously dreaming and did not just hear what he thought-

"Marry me."

The redhead turned in the circle of huge tan arms, gazing up into twin blues, searching...

"Yer serious?" He asked, all trace of sleep gone.

After a tense moment, his answer was a slow nod. He grunted in dissatisfaction and tangled his fingers into thick green-blonde curls, tugging gently. "No. Say it again."

"Yes,"

He pulled again, sharply.

"Marry me, Daxter."

They gazed deeply into each other's eyes, and he tried to convey all the unspoken worries – There is no going back, yer sure you want me? This?-

His lover's stare never faltered and a minute later, a grin crept across his pale face as he nuzzled into the green-blonde's muscled chest.

_Nothing would change._

"Mm, thought you'd never ask, sugar."

One tilt of his head and they were slowly pressing their lips together.

They opened their eyes and contemplated each other.

_I love you._

_-/-_

Now, this wasn't something they could just pull out their guns, say "Fuck it! We do what we want!" with renegade grins on their faces as they blasted shit apart.

They couldn't do that, now. Not with this.

Despite that, nobody could stop them from referring to each other as spouses.

And nobody could definitely stop them from wearing golden bands on their left ring fingers.

And they were just fine with that. Had planned it that way in fact. They just didn't _want_ to have a big fancy-shmancy wedding with people watching or a pope yapping away for an hour. Perhaps when they were younger they held childish dreams of having a marriage ceremony with a beautiful woman –At that time, they fought over who would marry Keira-. But those dreams were crushed the instant they were spat out in Haven City. While Jak could laugh all he wanted to at the idea of Dax wearing a wedding dress –the big jerk- they were more than content with simply getting their legal documents signed under Sig's crappy old pen.

"You sure 'bout this, cherries? You know I could-"

Dax dramatically waved the papers and slammed them down onto the throne's thick arm rest. "Sign away, big guy! Times'a wasting."

Jak shook his head and moved closer to the steps, "It's okay, Sig. It's what we want."

"It just ain't our style."

The big man shrugged his heavily-plated shoulders and narrowed his eyes at the small print. The papers themselves all held together with a feeble paperclip, already looked stained and wrinkled in some places.

"You boys really don't care much 'bout this, do you?" He asked in almost amusement and scrolled down until he found the signature line. The pen had to be shaken roughly before ink finally decided to come out; It hadn't been used in quite a while as Spargus was known for ripping off faces rather than signing treaties.

Jak and Daxter shared a look before shrugging unceremoniously –At the same time. They were in sync so much, it was sometimes creepy-.

"We don't want to make a big fuss about it, really."

"Yeah! As you know, we're world famous and such that stuff like that spreads preeeetty quickly!"

Without further ado, Dax planted himself on the arm rest as well, bumping into Sig's arm and nearly messing up the signature. Anyone else would've been shot in the head for even thinking about sitting on the king's throne like this. Not Daxter. He was different.

"There." Sig lifted the documents, "And take this too." The pen was placed with the small bundle into Dax's gloved hands.

Curiosity got the better of him, he momentarily ignored the redhead and looked down at Jak. "Do the city slickers know 'bout this?"

The green-blonde rolled his eyes. He knew Sig was referring to the Havenites. More importantly, he was referring to Ashelin.

"No. Not yet."

The Spargus king chuckled deeply, "Good luck with that, Chilipepper."

Yeah. Luck. Then again, he didn't even know when they were going back to Haven. It'd been awhile..

"Ah, who cares! Red'll find out soon enough. I told ya, this kinda shit spreads likes fire."

Sig snorted and finally shoved Daxter off, who cackled and hopped down the stone steps to take his place next to his partner –now technically his husband.

Jak raised an eyebrow and reached over to flick the side of his head.

"Ow! Hey!"

Sig rolled his eye, "Would you two just get outta here already?"

They playfully saluted, but Sig didn't fail to notice the warm gratitude in their eyes, silently thanking him for doing this for them. And he watched with an unexplainable feeling in his chest as they left the throne room, side-by-side, hands constantly brushing against one another.

-/-

_CHKCHK-BOOM!_

The metalhead had only a second to screech before its guts were splattered across the dirt. Eugh. Disgusting. But Dax was used to it at this point.

Once again, they'd been sent on a suicide mission, this time to clear out a den of metalheads. The place was swarming with them and before heading in the only thing Jak told him was to "Shoot first. Collect skull-gems later."

And yeah, he could do that. No need to tell him twice.

Abruptly, he spun and shot another creature that lunged for him, blasting it right in its outstretched stomach. "Dammit! I'm outta Vulcan ammo, Jak!" He yelled to his partner, who stood a few yards away. Unsurprisingly, the blonde ignored him in favor of taking care of his own batch of metalheads.

It was fine. Checking, he saw that he still had some blaster magazines in store. But, it wouldn't last long and Dax did not want to be stuck here with only red ammo… That shit was useless. It stunned the creatures and took a couple blasts to actually kill them.

A sharp set of claws caught his upper arm, shredding his tunic and thankfully not catching any skin. "Fuck!" Daxter stumbled away quickly and on instincts alone brought up his gun as a club, whacking the ugly monster away by the face.

Loud screeching and the sound of exploding electricity caused him to jump. He turned to confirm that Jak had just set off his peacemaker and managed to kill more or less 15 of the metalheads. Daxter ran forward as they exploded into blobs of Dark Eco and sank into Jak's skin.

"Hey, Dax? I need to ask you something."

"What?!" Now _really_ wasn't the time for a nice, homely Sunday conversation.

Without blinking, Daxter set his gun to scatter mode and shot at 5 charging scorpion-heads, not bothering to watch as they too, exploded.

"What do you think about having children?"

The question caught him off guard, so inexplicable and SO UNEXPECTED that Dax stumbled over his own feet and stood frozen in the middle of chaos, wasting precious time as he stared at his partner with wide eyes.

_What the fuck?_

Jak made up for that time by efficiently clicking his gun to reflector-mode and taking out 10 more. The whizzing bullets surrounding him shook him out of his confused shock and before he could think, his legs were already carrying him past Jak to take out another monster-

"Precursors, Jak! Why- I mean..- Why would you ask me somethin' like that? Here of all places?!"

And another fell under his assault-

"Good timing, I guess?"

And another-

"You've never been good with timing, buddy."

_And another-_

Dax hoped this would be over quickly. His bones and muscles were starting to ache and his gun would be useless soon without ammo.

He could hear Jak chuckle shortly before the man was snarling and lashing out again. Soon, they ended up back-to-back, spinning together as they took down the last of the creatures.

"Uh, sure, I guess?" Daxter ventured finally over the roar of gunshots and wails of pain. "I just never figured you for the 'daddy' type. And, uh, do we even have time to take care of a kid? You know I don't like kids, Jak! They're annoying and.. gross."

"It was just a suggestion." The other grunted softly, Dax himself didn't even know how he heard it. "For later on. When this is all over."

The redhead snorted, wondering when 'this would all be over' indeed.

-/-

Swiftly, he brought up his leg and kicked the door in. The frame banged loudly against the wall, causing a stunned silence to follow.

The barmaid up front turned a suspicious eye on him, but after a moment, her face burst into happiness. "Daxxie-poo!"

"Hey, Tessy-kins~!"

"How can I help my favorite customer?" Tess asked, leaning over the counter suggestively.

Dax stole a quick glance at her chest- yup, still big and beautiful as always- for a moment before taking a seat. "Always there when I need ya, sweetcheeks! Just the way I like it!" He chuckled and placed his elbow on the bar. "Sorry but I hafta cut to the chase here, baby. I'm on a tight schedule today."

"Oh?" She glanced behind him. "Where's Jak?"

"I left him back in Spargus."

Tess blinked. "You two actually separated? Never thought I'd live to see the day!"

"Ha. Ha." The redhead snorted dryly, "That's why I'm on a tight schedule! Jak can't last a single second without me nowadays. Ya know how it goes."

"I see. So, you're not here to visit me at all?"

She pouted and Dax quickly picked up her soft hand to kiss it. "Oh, y'know I'm always happy to see my snuggle-muffin!" He squeezed her palm. All jokes and flirting aside, he really meant it. Tess was the second most important person in his life.

After a second, she giggled and squeezed back. "I can't ever stay mad at you, Daxxie! Now, you need my help with..?"

"Oh yeah. I need ta know wher-"

She gasped sharply, surprising him into silence. "What is _that_?"

"Wh-"

The blonde tugged at his hand, and with yelp Dax was nearly dragged completely over the counter. "Hey! Hey!"

"What is that?" She repeated and pushed his hand into his direct view, pointing to the golden ring wrapped snugly around his finger.

"Oh. Yeah, Jak and I got married. Heh."

Tess stared at him with wide eyes before absolutely exploding; "What? When did this happen? Why didn't you tell me sooner? I-"

"Whoa! Chill baby, this happened eh, a few months ago."

Her chest heaved as she inhaled a deep breath. "Oh. So, like, everyone's okay with it?"

Daxter rolled his eyes, "Nah. People are on our ass about it. But, what else is new?" Mentally, he was surprised she hadn't heard anything about it yet. Working in the bar, where citizens spread their rumors around in the first place and she hadn't heard a peep. Weird.

She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and gazed at him softly. But, he didn't want her pity. Never did.

"Anyway, I need to know where the nearest orphanage is located. Is there even one in Haven?"

Her eyes widened again, she caught on quickly. "You two are thinking about adopting, too? Wha… Daxxie, honey, this is very serious. Do you even have time to take care of a child?"

"That's what I said ta Jak. Hey, this is his idea, not mine. We've been plannin' this for quite a while now."

"This is so life changing!"

"Like I said, what else is new?" He grinned just a tad sharp. He didn't want to be anything but sweet to the blonde, he _loved_ her. But, sometimes she had to know where the limits were.

Tess instantly got the message and nodded meekly. "Sure, I know one located near the slums. There aren't many kids, mainly just street rats. Here, let me get you directions..."

Dax sighed in relief, thankful for the dropped subject.

* * *

OKAY SO. This entire thing is already written, I'm just editing and adding stuff.

I've had this monster of a story in my computer file for at least a year... DARN YOU LAZINESS!


	2. Chapter 2

**I can hear the people complaining from a mile away.. bleh.**

**Y'know, honestly? I think canon-wise, Jak would never think about settling down with any kids until he was at least 40.. but that's just me. **

* * *

"What is that?"

"What does it look like? It's a crib, duh!"

"You built a crib." It wasn't a question.

Daxter nodded, proud. "Yup! I thought I could use my spare time and make one!" He lifted his arms in an overdramatic fashion. "Tada! Well, whattaya think?"

Jak bit his lip. The thing was honestly awful. Poorly made, wood cracked and old. And were those _nails_ sticking out? "Uh, it looks great, Dax. Really, nice job."

Daxter's grin grew - all smug. "Of course! Did ya expect anything less?"

"Well-"

"Don't answer that."

Jak rubbed the back of his head, "Maybe we should test it."

The redhead blinked, "Test it? Oh. Sure. Um, gimme a second." He looked around the room, searching for a substitute. A small pot was the closest thing he could find. "Well, it's lighter than a baby, but close enough." Dax said, bouncing it in his hand. With outstretched arms, he dropped it into the crib.

It instantly collapsed.

Jak quickly covered his mouth to keep from laughing, shoulders trembling as he did so.

Daxter's face was priceless; eyes wide, jaw dropped and frozen in place with arms still out.

Chuckling, Jak strode over and nudged some wood aside with his foot, "At least the vase is safe." He cheerfully said, indicating to the unbroken pot in the middle of the mess. Dax finally crossed his arms and glared indignantly at the other. "You think this is funny, huh? Let's see you make somethin' better!"

Never to back down from a challenge, Jak grinned, crossing his arms as well. "Alright."

Two weeks later, a new crib stood in the room. White, smooth and sturdy looking. When the vase was dropped inside, the crib didn't even shift.

"Fuck. You." Was all Dax said, leaving the room with Jak's bellows of laughter echoing after him.

-/-

Both men snapped awake at the sound of a small child crying. Simultaneously, they groaned.

"It's yer turn." Dax muttered, tugging the blanket over his head.

"No," Jak grunted back. "You have night duty, remember?"

"I hate you." The redhead growled as he dragged himself out into the chilly air. Grumpily, he glanced back at the blonde in bed, who was warmly curled up and snoring. He flipped him off even though Jak didn't see it.

As soon as he opened the door to their child's room across the hall, the wails assaulted him full front and made him pin his ears against his head.

"Hey. Hey. Now, it's okay. Shh. It's alright. I'm right here."

Dax continued to murmur gentle nothings as he made his way over to the crib and lifted the small blonde into his arms. At the age of 2 years, the kid couldn't exactly be cradled like a baby, but he could still be cradled nonetheless – Just like Jak could hold and lift Daxter… and he instantly cut off that train of thought; those railroads just led to old embarrassing paths.

Aimlessly, he walked around the room, slightly bouncing the weight in his arms and muttering reassurances as he did.

He purposefully kept the doors open so that the cries could reach Jak as well. Dax was even too tired to remember that he did propose to keep night duty so that Jak could get his rest. Oho no, that would be too silly. Give up a warm, full-night sleep for this? Bullshit.

When it became clear that the wailing would not come to an end, the redhead hurried over to the pack against the wall and pulled out what they deemed the 'emergency bottle' with one hand. Their parenting book said that children should be at least drinking from a sippy cup at this age, but they unfortunately still couldn't get him off the bottle..

"Here, buddy. C'mon. Enough with the cryin'."

Softly, he pushed the nipple into the child's mouth and felt relief pour over him as silence once again filled the air.

"There, see. Now you just go right back to sleep and let yer daddies get some too, huh?"

He brushed his lips against the small forehead and placed him back into his crib. Daxter fluffed up the pillow and arranged some of the blankets around until they could hold the bottle up in place for him. With only one glance to make sure the kid was still contently sucking down his milk, he closed the door and tiredly dragged himself to his own bed. As soon as he could, he flopped face down into the pillows and was asleep before Jak pulled him into his arms.

-/-

"Damas Mar! You get yer butt back here, right now!" Shrieks and giggles immediately followed as did the sound of padding feet. Eventually, with his longer legs, Daxter was able to catch and scoop up his son who wriggled in his hold, still shrieking happily. "What am I gonna do with ya? I swear yer getting faster every day."

Dax almost dropped him as they headed back to the bathing room. "Hey! Hey! Stop squirmin'! Yer naked an' must be cold, right?"

Huge blue eyes flickered up at him, but there was still an open-mouthed smile on that small, soft face. Daxter felt his heart wilting.

"Let's getcha in the bath." He switched his grip to Damas' small squishy tummy and stretched out his arms. He made sound effects and hurried to the gigantic tub- already full of water and scented bubbles. Damas laughed again, spreading out his chubby arms and closing his eyes.

For some reason, Damas absolutely loved flying. Almost too much. Most little ones were terrified with it until they aged more. Luckily for him, one of his fathers _could_ fly. Of course, that information hadn't been revealed yet. Dax shook his head and slowly lowered the toddler into the floor-leveled tub. He instantly started splashing, smacking the top of the lukewarm water.

"We gotta hurry up, now. Yer dad ain't gonna be happy if we're late," the redhead muttered as he massaged shampoo into the toddler's hair. Normally it was blonde, but when wet it became gold, almost orange.

"Don't tell yer father this, but I think yer gonna have red hair, like me."

Damas turned his head and blinked, as if he actually understood what Daxter was talking about.

"Nobody wants green fuzz, bleh!" He made a funny face, tongue sticking out for added effect which caused the toddler to giggle. "Red hair is where it's at. Yup, only redheads are cool."

Dax nodded to himself and reached over to pick up a small bowl of clean water. "Close yer eyes, sweetheart."

Just in case, he carefully tilted the child's head back, and poured the water over his head, washing the soap out.

Perhaps it was pitiful to speak to the child as if he were their real son. He would never have red or green hair and it would forever remain a shade of dark blonde, as the only three people with two-tones were over a hundred years old. His stomach clenched involuntarily at the thought. However, they treated Damas as if he weren't adopted and left it in the child's hands to the day he would figure out it was impossible for two men to have a baby.

"Now, c'mon. We need ya dried an' dolled up before Jak blows a gasket." Gently, he lifted his son out of the tub and placed him on the stoned floor. He quickly sought out a towel, not wanting Damas to be cold for long. Dax turned back, ready to wrap the dripping boy up and—

There was nothing there. Just a puddle. But, leading to the door was a trail of water droplets.

"**Damas Mar The Second**!"

-/-

Daxter was UNDERSTANDABLY worried. Damas recently turned two and still hadn't muttered a word yet.

"Can you say Dax? Daaax. Daxterrr. Jak. Jaaak."

His only reply was a blank look.

"How 'bout Daddy? Daddyyy. Can you say Dad?"

A blink. He gave up.

"That book said tykes normally say their first word before they turn one!"

Jak briefly rolled his eyes. "Relax. Not all kids talk at the same age. Everyone's different."

He considered for a moment. "Maybe he inherited yer muteness."

The other snorted, "Muteness, Dax? Really?"

But the redhead ignored him.

-/-

It turned out a couple of months later, Damas happily yelled his first word. One day, he had just stood before him and cried out "Daddy!"

And Dax was just fine with that. More than fine, in fact, he had almost burst into tears and Jak teasingly told him that he was overreacting.

He had just been paranoid after all.

-/-

Sometimes all three of them would curl up together at night. Normally this occurred when Damas had a nightmare or if Jak and Daxter were feeling more protective than usual. Despite warnings against this, both men were skilled enough never to roll over and smother their kid as he was tucked carefully between them.

-/-

Jak really, _really_ didn't like this idea.

"Dax…" Warily, he observed the crashing waves against the stones.

"What?"

"I really don't think you should be doing this."

Daxter sent him an unamused look from where he stood with Damas near the shore. "Re-fuckin-lax, buddy boy. I know what I'm doin'."

"Do you now? What about the squid…?"

"I said relax! I know where the squid lurks an' the boundaries!"

"Yeah, but..." Jak sighed and gave up- arguing with Dax was a lost cause. Stubborn little brat..

Damas giggled loudly and started squirming in the redhead's grip, legs moving towards the water. "See?" he said, grinning widely, "He wants ta! Besides, it's not like he's never swum before..."

"No. We've given him baths, but he's never actually swum."

"Bath. Swimming. It's all the same. Either way yer in a huge body of water."

The blonde shook his head as Dax moved towards the ocean, Damas waddling along beside him. Together, they stepped into the shallows; the water lapped Dax's shins but came up over Damas' knees. The toddler started shrieking with laughter, kicking at the waves. It was only the redhead's hand that kept him from tumbling over.

"Wanna go fer a swim?"

Damas cocked his head in curiosity.

"Sw-imm-ing." The redhead emphasized and moved deeper into the water. Jak huffed as he stood firm on the rocky shore. "Your clothes are gonna get soaked!"

"Worth it!" Dax shouted back without looking.

"What about Damas?"

"Oh, fer the love of-"

In a flash of movement, Jak had a pair of tiny clothes thrown at his face. Reflexes kicked in and he quickly caught them before they hit. His eyes flickered back up to his family and there was his son, waddling in the water with his tiny buns showing.

Jak recoiled. "Daxter! He's _naked_!"

"He's a baby! Nobody cares!"

The blonde smacked a hand to his face. "Whatever." He plopped down on a jutted rock and let the sound of the other two laughing fill his ears. Distractedly, he gazed up at the city. From this point, he could mostly see the gun torrent. It had been untouched for so long. They only used it for target practice once and awhile. But, so far there had been no threats to Spargus for over 5 years- "Hey!"

Jak started and looked back to the ocean. "Stop being Mr. Grouchy Pants, and come swim with us!" Daxter smirked. "I know ya wanna~"

He snorted, seeing no harm in it. They had been swimming thus far without any signs of giant, grabbing tentacles. And it was awfully hot this day. "Okay, fine. If it'll make you happy."

"Yes. Yes it would. Now get yer sexy butt over here."

The blonde paused for a moment and began to strip out of his boots. He then slipped off his scarf, throwing it aside with his son's clothing. "Hey, I got an idea!" Dax announced a little too innocently.

"No." said Jak as he finished removing his armor and goggles.

"You haven't even heard it yet!"

"I already know what it is. You want to go skinny dipping."

Dax paused. "Maybe."

"No." He said again and stepped into the cool water. He would never traumatize their son like that. Hell, he wouldn't do it in broad daylight either, son or no son.

The rolling liquid shone blindingly from the sun but it felt so good – especially with his callused feet crammed into his boots in the desert all day. Jak groaned under his breath in appreciation.

"Yer no fun." The other muttered from where he sat in the shallows and holding onto a squirming Damas. As soon as Jak approached, the redhead shot up and handed their blond to him.

"Dax-What-"

"Hold onto him fer a while. I really need ta swim. It won't hurt y'know." Jak frowned slightly and awkwardly sat down into the shifting water, placing Damas in his lap. He watched as Dax moved deeper into the ocean until the level came up to his shoulders, and dunked underneath.

Damas immediately started cooing and struggling in his grip. Jak glanced down and, sure enough, the child's blue eyes were locked onto the place where Dax had disappeared. "Oh. Uh, Daddy will be back in a second." He kept his grip firm as Damas started whimpering, puffing out his cheeks and splashing the water.

Just a moment later, _fire_ shot out of the waves. Daxter gasped and shook his head with a huge grin. "Whoo! That felt great! I needed that."

Jak raised an eyebrow as the other paddled forward, until the ocean thinned out to where he was crawling closer, listening to his son giggle and clap his hands.

"Swimming." Dax clarified. "It's been years. I even touched the bottom!"

Years. A sharp feeling of nostalgia punched Jak in the gut. Those childhood days where they would go for a refreshing swim after finishing chores or adventuring through the jungle. Back then, they had boundaries too; with a lurker shark, instead of a giant squid. He'd never dreamed something so _simple_ as swimming in clear waters would be taken for granted. The only bout of 'swimming' they'd done recently was diving into the dirty waters of the Haven Port to hide from pursuing guards.

He missed the sharks.

"Daddy!"

"Hey bud! C'mere." He reached over and plucked their son from his lap. For a moment, Jak missed the slight weight.

"Yer big lug of a father was probably all awkward while I was gone, wasn't he?" Dax cooed and rubbed the tiny blonde's nose with his own. They laughed together and Damas patted the redhead's cheeks with soft hands. Observing the scene, Jak felt a strange, insistent feeling clawing at his chest. He couldn't distinguish it, only knowing that there was a sudden impulse to hold the other two close and never let go. Instead he whispered, "He's really attached to you."

"Well yeah, I'm the only one who spends time with him."

It was meant to be taken as a joke, he knew, but it stung nonetheless. He frowned and looked away. This didn't go unnoticed by the other.

"Jak."

He stared intently at the water, even though it burned his eyes.

"Jak, look at me."

"Forget it, Dax."

"No." A small hand tilted his head up and by then he couldn't help but stare into those deep blues of his lover's eyes. "Yer a great father. Don't let anyone tell ya different, even me. You just need to spend more time with him, that's all. He's here with us because of _you_ and don't ya ever forget that."

"Yeah, I know."

The redhead smiled, boosting Damas closer. Without control, Jak's eyes flickered down to his son. Damas blinked back and then giggled, reaching chubby arms for him. "Heh. I'm not the only one he's attached to."

Jak merely nodded, and swallowed hard.

"Take 'im." Dax said and placed their child into his stiff arms. It couldn't be helped. Slightly, he choked on his breath and hugged Damas closer. The toddler appeared to be more comfortable than ever and began to suck on one tiny thumb.

_Damas._ Just like his.. father.

_"So, uh, when we pick up this kid," He scratched at his bare chin with one finger. "Got any... ideas?"_

_They made eye contact. He didn't know what his expression looked like but it made Daxter immediately go solemn._

_"…'Course we'll name him after the sand man, Jak."_

_A reassuring grin._

His insides twisted. He never questioned how his best friend read his mind like that. And he didn't think too deep into it. He didn't think too deep into anything, always having a nasty habit of shutting everything out.

But, this child..

He had the chance to be the father he never had growing up. He could love this child with all his being. Could teach him, play with him and protect him. Make sure nothing ever harmed him.

And he imagined that's what his own father would want. What he would've done for _him_.

Both men were smiling widely. Swiftly, Daxter leaned over and pecked Jak on the lips.

"We should go swimming more often."

* * *

**I used to babysit my sister's son and everytime he started crying - rather than pick him up and comfort him, I would just place a bottle in his mouth and use the blanket as a holder. Works like a charm!**


	3. Chapter 3

They recently received a message from Tess, asking them to visit Haven. That alone made Daxter more than ecstatic; he wanted to jump on the chance to see the others and also 'show off' his new son. Jak would be lying if he said he didn't miss the gang as well. The next day, they packed their bags and left Spargus.

"Oh! My little boys!" Both were pulled into a surprisingly strong hug and Dax hugged Tess back just as tightly. "Heya, sweetcheeks." He could even feel Jak placing an arm around her as well.

After a couple minutes, the redhead finally struggled out of her crushing grip. Jak gently removed her hands and backed away. She smiled before noticing the tiny figure huddled behind Jak's legs. "Oh? And who's this handsome young man?" She winked before kneeling. Damas retreated slightly, only one blue eye in sight and shining in curiosity. Jak reached back and slowly guided the toddler forward.

"Kiddo, meet yer Aunt Tess." Dax supplied.

The blonde female grinned and gently stuck out her hand. "Yup, that's me!" She announced giddily. "Hmm… and you must be… Damas!"

The redhead quickly hid his chortles behind his hand as his son's face lit up like a firework, jaw wide open in amazement. He then blinked down at the outstretched hand and took it with his own. Tess immediately shook it, much to Damas' surprise. Soothingly, she smiled at him and after a heartbeat; he smiled back shyly before retreating behind his father's legs again.

"That went well." Dax commented as she stood up and brushed herself off.

-/-

"He's just too adorable! I can't take it. I can just eat him up." Tess whispered and leaned down to kiss the child's forehead as he slept soundly in one of the bar's spare bedrooms.

"Yeah, he is. Where do ya think he got all his good looks, huh?" Daxter grinned, wiggling his eyebrows. She giggled and transferred her kiss to his own freckled cheek. "Now, why don't we get a drink while he naps up?"

The redhead looped an arm through hers, heading towards the door. "Baby, you've read my mind."

He only looked back once. Still, he knew Damas would be safe.

-/-

They cuddled into a booth and knocked their glasses together before drinking. Jak had left earlier to meet up with Keira and Samos, but Dax suspected his friend wanted to give Tess and him some alone time to catch up.

"So, tell me how you've been. I've missed you."

"Oh, ya know, busy taking care of a freakin' baby."

Softly, she laughed and set her glass down, settling into his side more. It felt nice.

"Tell me more about Damas." She looked so genuinely excited that Dax couldn't help but feel the same as well.

"He's an amazin' kid. He's well...he's everythin' anyone could want to have in a child. He's shy…curious...mischievous, um, an' he doesn't cry much, thank the Precursors for that."

Tess giggled and let him continue. "He's very quiet fer his age an'…" Daxter gazed distractedly into the distance. "He acts exactly as Jak did when he was little..."

A beat.

"You mean, 'The Kid'?"

"Yeah, ya knew him?"

She shook her head. "No, not personally. I only caught glimpses of him when Kor brought him to the Underground."

"Ah."

They descended into thoughtful silence once more.

"I'm sure that makes people happy though..." She began teasingly, nudging him again and almost making him slosh his drink everywhere as he tried to take a sip. Calmly, he set his glass down and turned narrowed eyes on her. "What are ya tryin' to say?"

"I'm sure everyone would rather have a little Jak running around rather than a little Daxter." Her shoulders were shaking as she tried so desperately to keep a straight face.

He instantly scoffed, and turned away with a pout.

"Yeah, no one could handle another me around. I'm sexy enough as is!"

Her resolve broke as she laughed loudly, and after a minute, Dax laughed with her.

It felt very nice.

They ended up dozing off, empty glasses pushed aside. Instead of the earlier position, it was Dax who cuddled up to her. Personally, he didn't mind resting against her; on the contrary, it was pretty comfortable.

"What do you do with Damas in the day?" She asked quietly. Her painted nails twitched as if she didn't know whether to stroke his hair or arm. After debating, she decided to stroke his hair. Dax hummed contently before answering. "Well, we take him swimming mostly and for walks through the city."

Tess nodded.

"Uh, we take naps together sometimes. All three of us."

She cooed softly, but otherwise kept quiet.

"And…that's it."

Her hand froze. Dax glanced up at her surprised face.

"What do you mean?"

"What?"

"What do you mean 'what'?" The blonde rolled her eyes. "What else do you do with Damas?"

"Er…like I said, nothin'."

She paused, mouth tight, which caused the redhead to back away a bit. Tess was very scary when she got angry.

"What do you keep in his room?"

"Well, we got a crib…clothes…an' bottles."

"That's it?"

Dax nodded carefully. "Uh, Yeah."

"Daxter!" Tess scolded softly and turned to fully face him, gripping his upper arm. "You don't have any toys or books?"

He shook his head, eyes wide in confusion. She gritted her teeth and shook him slightly, "He needs toys to play with! Books to learn from! No wonder he's so quiet. He hasn't learned anything!"

A pause.

"He knows one word."

"And what's that?"

"Daddy."

Her face softened before she shook her head and released him. "I'm going out to get some things for that poor baby. You stay put." She commanded and slipped over him. Needless to say, Dax got a good view.

Quickly, she grabbed her purse from behind the counter and left the bar, locking the door on the way out.

After a few minutes of silence, Dax sighed. "I need another drink." As he got up, he grabbed both glasses from the table.

-/-

Daxter eyed Tess warily as she held up a stuffed yakow in front of his son's face. She shook it and emanated weird sounds while Keira sat behind Damas, supporting him even though he was old enough to sit on his own.

"I think those girls have just adopted our son from us." Jak commented and Dax snorted in response. "No way are they taking my son. I went through hell and back for that kid." Jak chuckled silently, his chest shifting against Dax's back as the redhead sat in his husband's lap. A few people stared, but the green-blonde would always glare them into submission if their eyes strayed too long. Daxter didn't blame them though; they were sitting on the damn floor. Two women hovering over a baby with a pile of toys and two men seated a few feet away, the bigger resting against a booth while the smaller sat in his lap. Pretty weird sight indeed.

"Hey!" Someone yelled, "Who's servin' drinks?"

Tess gave the rugged man the stink eye. It was intimidating even though she sat on the ground with a stuffed animal in hand. "We're not serving tonight. If you used your eyes, it clearly said that on the sign outside." The man growled and stepped forward. Daxter immediately noticed Damas cower and scoot back into Keira. Even Jak tensed behind him.

"This is a bar! Whaddya mean ya ain't sellin' drinks?"

"People can come in if they want to-"She gestured to the few citizens who were seated around them. They had been chatting before, but were now shamelessly observing the scene. "But, no drinks."

"This is crazy!" He yelled, stomping his foot like a child. Dax felt a headache start to pound at his temple and shifted to lift himself up. "Look pal, I'll serve drinks if that'll shut yer trap."

But, Jak's arms instantly tightened around him, clutching him close possessively. "Okay, eh, maybe not."

As soon as the man stormed out, tension vanished from the air and the noise level rose again.

Tess turned disappointed eyes on him. "This is family time, Daxxie."

The redhead rolled his eyes and relaxed into Jak's chest. "Gotcha," He replied almost sarcastically.

A tiny hand landed on his leg, making him flinch. Startled, he looked down into Damas' big eyes. "Daddy," he whimpered and proceeded to crawl into Daxter's own lap. The girls squealed quietly but the redhead ignored them as he gathered his son close.

"Aw, did that tall, ugly, gruesome man scare ya?"

Damas puffed out his cheeks in reply and snuggled into his lanky chest.

"Don't ya worry, kiddo. If that creep comes back, yer father will kick his ass."

Many things happened at once; Jak barked out a laugh. Damas clapped his hands gleefully. Keira hid her face into one hand and Tess spluttered wildly.

"Daxter! Don't curse in front of the baby!"

"What? He won't remember it. He doesn't even know what it means!"

"Ass! Ass!" Damas yelled, clapping his hands again. Both Jak and Dax cracked up while Tess left the room in exasperation.

-/-

"You!"

Both men jumped and spun in their seats to see an angry redhead stomping towards them.

"Ah. Why hello yer majesty. Walking among the commoners I see?"

Dax smirked wryly as Ashelin's face reddened in anger. She stood before them and placed her hands on her hips.

"You'd shut your bucktoothed mouth if you valued your skin, Rat."

"Ooo feisty!"

Jak placed his drink down and grunted in disapproval. He shot his partner one warning glance before addressing the woman. "Something you want?"

"Oh, there are many things I _want_!" She gritted her teeth while Jak raised an expectant eyebrow and Dax had the gall to yawn.

"I want to know why you haven't returned in years when you promised you'd come back daily!"

Daxter studied his nails, "I don't remember this."

"No," Jak cut in before the two redheads could start up again. "The '_deal'_ was we'd come back if something happened. Other than that, we can come and go whenever we feel like it."

Ashelin sighed briskly and crossed her arms. She closed her eyes for a long moment before glaring at them. "How long?"

The men glanced at each other. "A week? Somethin' like that."

"And you didn't think to tell me?"

Jak's mouth thinned. "I didn't know it was necessary."

"Yeah. Ya gotta have a planner on our lives or somethin'?"

She breathed in deeply, as if she was trying desperately not to yank out her gun and shoot everything. "No, it's not necessary. But, it would have been nice to know that you returned after all these years." Her posture suddenly deflated and she gazed at Jak almost sadly, "Do you not trust me?"

Immediately, Dax groaned and spun around in his seat to slump over the counter, "Oh geez, here we go!"

Jak rubbed the back of his head, hoping this entire situation would be over sooner than later. "Sure, Ashelin, I trust you."

"Then let me know what the hell is going on in your life more often! Is that too much to ask? Fine, Okay, I'm done. Go back to whatever is you were doing before I so_ kindly_ interrupted." The redheaded woman held her head high as she turned her back on the two and more-or-less stomped out of the bar.

He blinked at the silence of the bar and turned at the sound of Daxter's chuckling. "She's gonna be sooo pissed with us when she finds out, huh babe?" Jak resisted the urge to groan, and took a large swig of his beer.

"Yeah, can't wait."

-/-

She would've found out eventually.

"A baby?! Marriage?"

Their ears stung at the assault and both resisted the urge to cover them.

"Let me just ask before I shoot both of you: _Why_?"

"Uh, it's called life, Ashe. Things like this, sorta happen all the time."

She ignored Dax in favor of slamming a magazine on the table in front of them. "Do you realize you're all over the paparazzi right now? EVERYWHERE! People have found out, Jak!"

He could feel his temper rising, "So what? Took them long enough, if you ask me. This wasn't supposed to be a little secret."

This time, she pounded the wood with her fist. "You don't get it! I'm talking about bad people! People who see your 'little secret' as a weakness against you!"

The green-blonde stood up, glaring down at her. "Thanks but I can protect my family just fine. If anyone even thinks about touching my husband or son, I'll kill 'em."

After a moment of staring, Ashelin deflated under his stare and bowed her head in defeat. "My.." She swallowed and gazed back up at him, "My father _used me_ for his own benefits. And I just don't-"

She sighed and stepped around the table to place a hand on his shoulder. "I don't want to see anything like that happen to you. Children _complicate_ things, Jak. What happens if the world is threatened again and you're too busy taking care of a child to save it? Huh? What're you gonna do then? Carry your son onto the battlefield with you?"

Jak frowned softly as he felt her grip tighten, "I'll just have to cross that bridge when I get there."

"But that's stupid!"

"It's gotten me this far."

-/-

"We really need ta get back to Spargus. It's been over a month."

"Already?" Tess asked sadly, ears drooping.

Dax pulled her into a tight embrace. "It won't be long before we visit again, I promise." He felt her nod and squeeze him even tighter. After a couple minutes, they both pulled away but she kept a firm hold of his shoulders. "Be safe. Keep Jak in check. Take care of Spargus, and read to Damas. Play with him. He really enjoys that stuffed ottsel I made him." She winked and smiled delightfully. Dax could only nod, a burning ache in the back of his throat.

She let go of him completely and moved onto Jak. "You be good too, dark boy." With a teasing smile, she tugged him into an embrace as well. He didn't return the affectionate gesture immediately; Jak wasn't exactly a 'cuddle bug' –Except if your name was Daxter or Damas - but after a few heartbeats, he patted her back awkwardly in a pass of a hug.

"Aunt Tessie."

Their eyes snapped down at the blond toddler in shock. Damas instantly blushed, peeking up through his bangs meekly at the attention. The redhead's eyes travelled back to Tess as she dropped down to her knees. Her light blue eyes were sparkling, though he couldn't tell if it was from tears or just pure happiness. He couldn't blame her. This was the first time Damas had said her name and he seemed to have adopted Dax's nickname for her as well.

"Oh my little schnookums. I'm going to miss you." She whispered and gathered him close. He cuddled into her, resting his head on her breastbone. Once they pulled back, the woman ruffled his blonde hair as he asked "Kei?"

Jak blinked. "You taught him how to say Keira's name?"

She grinned at him briefly. "Aunt Kei is working right now, sweetie. I'll make sure to tell her you said goodbye. I'll even give her a hug for you."

Damas tilted his head, appearing a bit put out. Tess fixed this by digging her nails into his sides. He shrieked with laughter and tried to squirm away futilely.

"Alright," Dax interrupted after a minute and lifted his still wiggling son into his arms, resting the small body against his hip. "Time ta go."

Before they departed for the transport, Tess gave each of them a kiss on the cheek. Jak looked embarrassed, but the redhead only thought it was sweet.

* * *

**I enjoy playing the Daxter mommy trope. Anyway, I wasn't really gonna update this thing but I figure I should get it over and done with and never have to worry about it again. **


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